February 2019

Monday, February 18

This was a short but very fun trip: Judy’s 2018 Christmas gift. It was planned for February because that’s usually when we have our worst winter weather, and that worked out great. Birmingham was pretty much drowning and cold, while we had great weather in Key West. It wasn’t a long trip, we didn’t wear ourselves out, we didn’t try to see and do everything there, and we loved it.

We started out by taking the shuttle to Atlanta, and hopping on a plane. If we had been paying attention to where we were going, we would have been prepared, but as it was we were both surprised and amused to find the Key West airport was about the smallest one we’d been in in years. Decades, maybe. Even the Jackson Hole airport is bigger.

A short taxi ride took us almost to the other end of the island to the Reach Hotel, one of three that Jan Cordell had suggested we might like. It’s located on the beach a block away from the southern end (the “quiet” end) of Duval Street, and as resort hotels go, this was about par for the course. We checked in and opted to accept the offer of a larger room with an ocean view for just a few bucks, making our stay a little more comfortable. (I must admit: I’m a sucker that was born in my minute.) The room wasn’t in great condition–stains on the carpet–but it was actually a suite, so we didn’t back out once we had seen it.

It was time to get a look at the neighborhood at that point, so off we went. We were just a couple of blocks from the marker for the Southernmost Point, so off we went. Judy mentioned that somewhere in the family archives, there is/was a photo of her and her brothers standing next to the marker. That would have been some time in the 1950s, when the three of them had ridden from Jasper all the way to Key West, with Judy in the middle between Jimmy and Ronny. Out trip was much more comfortable, and no doubt days shorter. On the other hand, we didn’t get to stop at all the monkey jungles and the like on the ride down. I guess that’s a trade-off you just have to deal with.  (wink-wink, nudge-nudge). We did our tourist duty; we stood in line, asked a nice couple to take our picture, and laughed the whole time. Maybe that’s part of what makes a vacation real.

After walking a little more, taking some more photos, and deciding to go back the way we had come, we saw a sign for happy hour at the Southernmost House, now a boutique hotel. This being the first day of a real vacation, we walked in, got directions to the beachside bar, got drinks, and sat down for a while. Yes. in the middle of the afternoon. Another requirement for a vacation. I have to recommend watching pelicans and gulls as a most enjoyable way to spend some time when you’re on vacation. Very entertaining and relaxing. We can’t recommend Spencer’s (the restaurant at the Reach) highly enough. Dinner was excellent. The day ended with a look at the almost-full moon rising over the trees, and a contented sigh from both of us.

Tuesday, February 19

The next morning saw me out early, getting coffee, and walking around the neighborhood for a while. One of the things I wanted to do was see the restaurant that was to be the starting point for our afternoon food tour, so I at least had a direction in mind as I started out. The walk was fun, and walking in flat Key West if much easier than walking the hills in our neighborhood at home. After my little stroll, where I spotted a cat that looked like Little Lu, just lying around looking cute, Judy and I headed out for a visit to the Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. We had a ball! I know that there’s a similarity to all of these places. After all, just how much variety can be planned when providing the essentials of life for hundred of insects is the first priority. We’ve always enjoyed these places, and this one didn’t disappoint, not only for the many beautiful butterflies but also for some special residents: Rhett and Scarlett, two Caribbean flamingoes. Check out the video on my YouTube channel. I laughed a little too much, I’m afraid.

We walked a bit more, but we were conscious of the need to save some steps for our food tour in the afternoon. We were really feeling the point of vacation at this point, so we took the butterfly wall ornament Judy bought back to the hotel and opted for a drink at the bar, then an early and light lunch at Spencer’s. That didn’t disappoint at all! A little time in the room storing energy (i.e., I took a nap.) got us ready to take a cab to Siboney’s, the restaurant where our food tour was to start. We had taken a similar walking food tour in New Orleans before, so we had a good idea what to expect, but this time we wouldn’t be limited to only one food item (oysters in New Orleans), we would be sampling different dishes, primarily influenced by Cuban cuisine. Th tour was a lot of fun, with about a dozen tourists eating, drinking, walking through several different neighborhoods, and learning about the history of the island in general and Cuban influence in particular. If you’re in the area, we both recommend signing up for this tour. We walked about a mile and a half, made stops at five places, enjoyed food and drink at each stop, and in general had a ball. After walking, eating, and drinking from 3:30 until 7:00, there wasn’t any need for us to find a restaurant for dinner! We took a look at the largest full moon of the year, smiled at it contentedly, and closed the blinds for the night.

Wednesday, February 20

Our second morning in Key West, I got up early enough to go out on the pier and catch the sunrise. The clouds were in just the right place, and I enjoyed watching the changing light so much that I didn’t even mind waiting for my coffee until the show was over. In a way, I had a two-for-one show, because opposite the rising sun I could see some really nice cloud formations reflecting colors of the sunrise. Eventually the light show ended, and I walked off to find breakfast at Ana’s Conch & Cuban Cafe. That was a good move! I wandered around a bit, going in an opposite direction from the day before, and then went back to the hotel. We waited out a rain shower until it was time for a late breakfast, early lunch, then struck out for food and a nice hike to the Hemingway House.

Visiting the Hemingway House is on just about everyone’s list of things to do in Key West, and we were both interested in doing that, so off we went. We walked through places we had seen the day before during the food tour and realized that we had been only a block away from the place then. The house itself is interesting because of its history and the way it was constructed from native limestone, dug out to create a basement level that was once used as a cistern. But its current position as the house Ernest Hemingway lived in in the 1930s is what makes it such a popular tourist attraction today. The tour was well-done, and I can’t imagine how they could stuff in more Hemingway memorabilia than they have on the walls and furniture now. When we got to the master bedroom, there were two cats, curled up and napping the day away. One was a gray tabby, like out Pat-the-Cat, and the other was black with a little white, like Little Lu. The tour itself was informative, and one option included checking out Hemingway’s writing studio — two at a time, because we weren’t allowed farther in the door than about two feet. We then had time to wander the property on our own, pet the cats (whether they had six toes or five), and check out the gift shop, unavoidable in any tourist location.

We walked

Sunset cruise. You can watch a video to see Judy in action.